The Zen of Uni-Tasking

We've all read the report that says even though we think we're multi-tasking, we're not - according to our brains. Just like a computer, the brain gathers info very fast, but only works with one piece of information at a time. The more we multi-task, the more harried the brain gets because it's continually trying to take bits of disconnected stuff, and put them in coherent strings.  

I find when I'm creating a new document for a client, I indulge in the luxury of focusing only on this one project. Often the focus is so intense that everything else fades out - sounds disappear, time becomes nonexistent, I don't know where I am. It's a consciousness thing - it's just me and the computer screen. Keyboard and screen. Brain and project. Idea and written copy. A direct connection. 

Once I was working like this, it was winter in New England, and the power went out. Computer was intact with battery, so project continued. Although I do vaguely remember getting a blanket to put around me at the desk because the heat had gone out, there was still nothing but me and the client's document. A few hours later, when I finished the first draft, I came back to time/space and realized the house was dark and cold, the dog needed to be fed, and I didn't know where my kid was. (I found him, it was okay, I had planned for this in advance.)

This scary scenario happens also when I'm reading an absorbing novel. Hello, focus; goodbye planet Earth.

Now that I know this happens, I always pre-plan for Uni-tasking time. Always have a note next to the computer saying what day it is and where I am, always have the alarm set for a few hours in the future so my silver connection-cord can connect back to my body, always make sure ahead of time that there's nothing on the stove.

I like it better than meditation. It's like meditating, but you also get stuff done. Oooops, wouldn't that be multi-tasking?

(c) 2016 Suzann Kale